


Memories of scars

by UndeadFae



Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Beta Read, teikokuweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24459385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndeadFae/pseuds/UndeadFae
Summary: They have gotten plenty of scars over the years. Some have a deeper story than others.Day 6 of teikokuweek: Scars
Relationships: Genda Koujirou/Sakuma Jirou
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Memories of scars

**Author's Note:**

> i'll never get tired of writing about their scars ok

His first scar happened one day in the middle of playing when they were kids.

Genda and Sakuma had been just running around, laughing and kicking the ball without a care in the word, when suddenly Genda caught it the wrong way, tripping over it and falling flat on his face. Under Sakuma's panicked stare and panicked questions, Genda managed to sit up, tears pricking at his eyes despite his best efforts to hold back, a toothy grin on his face in an attempt to calm down his friend.

Then, Sakuma blinked, still staring at him with wide eyes, frozen in place. Genda wasn’t sure what was wrong until he felt the warmth trickling down his face, to then taste the metal on his lips.

After much panic, tears and fear, Genda's parents had cleaned up his face and taken care of the clearly life threatening injury. He earned a cool kitten-themed band aid for it. And a hug from a still very scared best friend.

He was still proud of the faint scar that was left behind, even when between how small it was and how it was completely covered by his hair no one would see it. It was the first step of a long journey towards becoming the very best players he- they could be. He wasn’t alone in this, always grinning when he reminded Sakuma that they were together in it. Sakuma would just pout and remind him the scare of that day, pouting even more when Genda just laughed it off.

As long as he had his friend, the scars didn’t matter.

* * *

Sakuma tripped again, tiny hands digging into the dirt as he tried to at least sit up.

It had been a few days since the hospital discharged him, claiming he was fully recovered despite the now blind eye. A few days since he had started trying to get back into playing like before.

A few days being reminded of how useless he was without an eye.

“Are you okay?” A hand intruded into his limited field of view, Sakuma tensing up and looking away as he hesitantly took it.

“Yes…” A lie. They both knew that.

He wasn’t fine. He hadn’t been fine ever since he had been admitted into the hospital, he hadn’t been fine as he recovered with his now halved sight and he definitely hadn’t been fine as he kept trying to adapt and go back to playing as he used to. He wasn’t fine and Genda knew that.

While Sakuma looked around trying to find the ball, Genda looked down at his bruised and bloody knees, worry all over his face.

“Hey… shouldn’t we take a break now?” Sakuma glared, like the mere suggestion was a personal offense. Genda didn’t flinch or look away. “You need it…”

They stared at each other for a moment that felt almost like hours. Then, Sakuma sighed.

“Fine…” He looked away when Genda smiled, knowing already he’d feel awful for just considering going against his friend’s wishes just by looking at it. Making his way towards the nearby bench, he winced in pain as he bumped into it, still not really used to his lack of depth perception. Genda just reached into his bag as he sat at his side, pulling out and offering him a sweet snack and a juice pack.

While Sakuma ate and calmed down a bit, Genda couldn’t help but stare at his knees.

“… You can tell me if you’re not fine…”

“But I _am_ fine.” He clearly didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe it was still too soon.

“Alright. But you can trust me.” He just needed Sakuma to know that. When he looked back at him, there was a tiny smile on Sakuma's face, quickly hidden by another bite.

“… I trust you.” That already put the smile back on Genda's face.

“We’ll get you back into playing, alright? You can trust me!” He was determined, refusing to accept any other outcome.

The scars on his knees were thin and faint, only noticeable if someone stared hard enough and long enough. Sakuma didn’t care anymore, they were just another reminder of how hard he had to fight to get where he was. He would keep fighting every day, no matter the scars that piled up. For himself, for his team, for Genda.

* * *

As soon as the cast was off, Genda looked at his hands, shaky fingers tracing the new scars covering his hands. They were just another reminder of all the hardships he had faced, of everything he had managed to survive so far.

They were also a reminder of his failure, always there to haunt him.

Even when the team was glad to just have him back and know he would recover, he couldn’t shake off that feeling after their recent match. The feeling of being so worthless and helpless he could only watch his friends suffer from his spot in front of their goal, unable to even relief them of the burden of protecting it.

Genda already had gotten a few more scars over the years, scars he never minded, only a proof of how hard he had tried.

These scars? These were the first ones he truly hated.

He would have to keep trying, to try harder for everyone. He wouldn’t let them down again, no matter how many scars would follow.

* * *

Sakuma could finally walk around by himself, his leg healed enough to only need a crutch to get around. He still hated it, but it was better than the alternative.

With a soft sigh, he sat down in the locker room, making sure he was alone before stretching his legs on the bench, pulling up the leg of his pants to massage his sore muscles. Even months after using that dreadful shot, he was still feeling the consequences. Not like he had a right to complain, not after what they had done, even when everyone else kept insisting it wasn’t their fault.

He hated how the scars felt under his fingers, a mess of crisscrossed jagged lines, some thin, some bigger. It scared him to think of how close he could’ve been to losing it altogether, a shiver running down his spine. It was a close call, too close for comfort.

“Something wrong?” He was startled out of his thoughts by the sudden voice, turning around to find Genda standing by the door, gloves tucked in his pocket and scars in plain sight. Sakuma sighed, quietly shaking his head as he fixed the leg of his pants.

“Nothing… just the usual.” After a moment, Genda decided to step closer and sit next to him, resting a hand on his knee as his silent way of showing support. “Shouldn’t you be still in the middle of practice?”

“They told me to take it easy- well, more like forced me to take it easy and step out of the pitch earlier. You know they’re worried…” Not like they could blame them, not after how much they had been beaten down and broken in such a short time frame.

“Yeah… they’re right- you should be taking it easy, you know? You always end up pushing yourself.” Genda huffed, leaning against him and resting his head on his shoulder.

“I’m _fine_ \- stop worrying so much, I’m not gonna fall apart any time soon.” Sakuma didn’t bring up the Zeus match as much as he wanted to. He just leaned against Genda, enjoying the silence and peace for a while. They needed a moment like this after so much chaos. After a moment, Genda wrapped an arm around his shoulders and held him a bit closer, Sakuma silently thanking him for the affection. It was what they both needed after everything that happened. After it took such a close call to open their eyes and finally let out those feelings they insisted on hiding.

“Koujirou?” He looked at Sakuma as soon as he heard his name. “Thanks. For not leaving me.” Genda just smiled, pressing his lips against his temple in a soft kiss.

“You don’t have to thank me- I could never leave you.” Of course he wouldn’t, he was too much of a selfless idiot for that.

“Still. You could’ve left without me… before they did all that. You had the chance to escape without me…”

“And I would’ve never done it without you.” He didn’t hesitate once, smile still on his lips. As much as he hated knowing how much risk Genda would regularly put himself into for his sake, Sakuma couldn’t help his own smile. Maybe it was selfish of him, but knowing he meant so much to someone so special even with all his scars… it made him happy. It made him feel loved.

* * *

They had taken a habit of sharing a bed at night lately, something growing more and more frequent over time. It helped them sleep at ease, and that was what mattered. On most nights, at least.

That night, Sakuma was woken up by the sudden movement at his side. Groaning as he stirred and forced his eye open, Sakuma turned around. He was fully awake as soon as he saw Genda's distress in his sleep, shaking and almost trashing around in the bed, nearly kicking him.

So tonight was his turn. Sakuma already knew what his nightmare was about.

“Koujirou… wake up, please-” Sakuma hesitantly touched his shoulder, trying to shake him awake. Genda was still trapped in his nightmare to even hear him. “Koujirou- listen to me, it’s okay!” He shook him harder, almost desperate to wake him up.

It took a few more tries before Genda finally opened his eyes, shaking and gasping for air.

“Easy there… it’s okay, it was just a nightmare. You’re safe here…” Gently placing a hand on his back, Sakuma pulled him closer, rubbing circles on his back as he felt him shake in his arms. One of Genda's hands was clutching his face, like those scars were still bleeding wounds and he was one moment away from falling apart.

Genda was hurting, much more than what anyone else expected. He kept trying to hide it, to push it all away and put on a smile for their sake. Sakuma could still see it, all the pain hidden behind his scars.

And so he held him a bit closer and tighter. If he didn’t want to share his pain, then Sakuma would just take it from him.

“J-Jirou…?”

His hand was still clutching his face, his grip just a bit more slack than before. It was enough to make Sakuma feel a bit more at ease, knowing he was starting to get through him.

“It’s okay… I’m here with you. You’re okay.” Just to prove that it was all true and snap him out of his haze, Sakuma brushed his hair aside to gently kiss his forehead. Without hesitation, Genda hugged him back just as tightly, clinging to him as he took deep breaths. “You got this… it’s alright, just take deep breaths.”

They sat there in silence for a while, just letting Genda breathe again, Sakuma still holding him close to reassure him that the nightmare was gone.

“I’m… I’m fine now…” When he pulled back, Sakuma could allow himself to breathe again seeing him doing better already. “Thank you…”

Sakuma gave him a soft smile, gently brushing his cheek with a thumb. Neither of them mentioned the tears he was wiping away.

“It’s alright… I’m just glad to know you’re doing better now.” Genda managed a nod. He wasn’t exactly doing well, but better was enough for now. For both of them. “Do you… feel like going back to sleep yet?”

He went quiet at that, thinking about it. Then, he slowly shook his head.

“Not… not yet. Maybe in a bit.”

“It’s alright, take your time.” They both needed it.

When they laid down again, Genda was already pulling Sakuma closer, his silent plea for more contact, for more kind touches keeping him grounded. Sakuma happily obliged, getting comfortable to return and lean into the hug.

Their scars were ugly, painful and bringing back more sad and bittersweet than happy memories, but they were learning to live with them.

“… I love you.”

“I love you too.”


End file.
